Just Label It News Roundup 10-26

A second round of tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group found glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer in every sample of popular oat-based cereals and snacks marketed to children. These test results fly in the face of claims by two companies, Quaker and General Mills, which have said there is no reason for concern due, their products meet the legal standards. Yet almost all of the samples tested by EWG had residues of glyphosate at levels above than what EWG scientists consider protective of children’s health with an adequate margin of safety. Environmentalists have accused the organizers of a six-figure lobbying campaign designed to defend a controversial weedkiller of using methods “straight out of the fossil fuel and tobacco lobbyists’ playbook”. Also in the news, a study of nearly 70,000 French adults who were tracked for an average of four and a half years found that those who ate the most organic foods were 25 percent less likely to develop certain kinds of cancer than the people who ate the least.

A new Cornell study published this month in Environmental Pollution finds that glyphosate, was present at low levels in a variety of dog and cat foods the researchers purchased at stores. Island Home Center & Lumber in Washington created buzz when it announced it would stop carrying Roundup or any other product containing glyphosate. The store posted a large notice about its decision regarding Roundup last week – noting that agricultural vinegar is an effective alternative.

A second round of tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group found the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer in every sample of popular oat-based cereal and other oat-based food marketed to children. These test results fly in the face of claims by two companies, Quaker and General Mills, which have said there is no reason for concern. This is because, they say, their products meet the legal standards. Yet almost all of the samples tested by EWG had residues of glyphosate at levels higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children’s health with an adequate margin of safety. A California judge on Monday upheld a jury’s verdict that found that Monsanto’s weed killer caused a groundskeeper’s cancer, but she slashed the amount of money to be paid from $289 million to $78 million.

A California judge on Monday upheld a jury’s verdict that found that Monsanto’s weed killer caused a groundskeeper’s cancer, but she slashed the amount of money to be paid from $289 million to $78 million. In denying Monsanto’s request for a new trial, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bolanos cut the jury’s punitive damage award from $250 million to $39 million, the same amount the jury awarded for other damages, for a total of $78 million.

A study of nearly 70,000 French adults who were tracked for an average of 4.5 years found that those who ate the most organic foods were less likely to develop certain kinds of cancer than the people who ate the least.

Environmentalists have accused the organizers of a six-figure lobbying campaign designed to defend a controversial weedkiller of using methods “straight out of the fossil fuel and tobacco lobbyists’ playbook”. Roundup, a weedkiller marketed by Monsanto, is the best-known brand name for glyphosate, a chemical widely used by farmers and domestic gardeners.

Got glyphosate? Your pet’s breakfast might. A new Cornell study published this month in Environmental Pollution finds that glyphosate, the active herbicidal ingredient in widely used weed killers like Roundup, was present at low levels in a variety of dog and cat foods the researchers purchased at stores. Before you go switching Fido or Fluffy’s favorite brand, however, be aware that the amounts of the herbicide found to correspond to levels currently considered safe for humans.

Runoff from farms and feedlots has badly polluted Iowa’s waterways, more than half of which do not meet federal quality standards. Now, an unlikely coalition is calling for stricter controls to clean up the drinking water sources for millions of the state’s residents.

Under pressure from EWG and other environmental and public health groups, the Food and Drug Administration has banned seven substances used in artificial flavors that have been linked to cancer in animals.

The herbicide Roundup has been in the news recently for its potential to cause cancer. Island Home Center & Lumber in Washington created news of its own when it announced it would stop carrying Roundup or any other product containing glyphosate, the active ingredient in the well-known weed killer. posted a large notice about its decision regarding Roundup last week. Next to the notice is agricultural vinegar, which the store’s Garden Center Manager Tanner Yelken says is an effective alternative.